The Crime Ledger: August 26, 2026

This briefing includes the deaths of children and family annihilations. Victim names below are those officially released.

Daily Breaking True Crime Briefing
As of: Wednesday, August 26, 2026, afternoon ET
Scope: Cases with a verified identification, charging decision, or material trial move from August 23–26. Routine blotter and unconfirmed claims were cut. Lawandcrime.com was reviewed. The New Yorker had no matching crime or courts piece in the window.

Two family annihilations landed in the same week. In Billings, Yellowstone County named eight relatives killed at a Sunday dinner, including four children, and confirmed Alan Smith died of a self-inflicted gunshot after setting the house on fire. Near Forest Grove, Washington County detectives identified five people shot on an Otis Lane property and said Benjamin Parker died by suicide in Enumclaw after telling his mother the attack was planned. In Bowie, Maryland, Shawanda Alston, a mother of seven, died Tuesday of a head wound from a shooting five days earlier; Kimball Hinton Jr. is in custody. In Scott County, Missouri, assistant fire chief Jeremy Perrien was charged with second-degree murder in his wife’s 2025 highway death after lab work and a hidden phone video contradicted the first suicide account. In Plymouth, a forensic psychologist told jurors Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible, with closings expected as soon as Thursday.

Eight Relatives Killed at Billings Dinner

Authorities identified Alan Smith, 44, as the man who killed eight relatives — including four children — during a Sunday dinner at a home on White Star Circle west of Billings, set the house on fire, and died of a self-inflicted gunshot as officers arrived. Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell named the dead: Evelyn Smith, 92; Dana Smith, 73; Barbara Smith, 72; Megan Ireland-Ghekiere, 39; Landon Ghekiere, 15; Charlotte Ghekiere, 12; Owen Ireland, 13; and Chloe Ireland, 7. Smith is deceased. There is no charging case.

The shooting was Sunday, August 23. O’Donnell said Smith had previously lived at the house but was not living there at the time. Relatives told the Associated Press his parents had asked him to move out weeks earlier; he returned during the family’s weekly dinner. A 911 call went out at 6:01 p.m. The first officer arrived at 6:12 p.m. and heard shots from the back of the house before the structure filled with smoke. Smith was found with a self-inflicted gunshot and pronounced dead at a hospital. The fire burned the house to its foundation and complicated the scene. Police said they had no prior contact with Smith. Motive has not been officially established. Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office; Billings Police Department.

Four generations, including four children and a 92-year-old great-grandmother. The official names and timeline are now the public record.

Sources:

• Associated Press — Police seek answers after family member kills 8 at Sunday dinner
• Montana Free Press — Authorities release details of Billings shooting that killed 8 family members
• KULR8 — Officials share names and timeline from White Star Circle

Five Killed on Forest Grove Property

Washington County detectives say Benjamin Charles Parker, 36, killed his girlfriend, her mother, her grandmother, and two friends at a rural Otis Lane property near Forest Grove, then died by suicide in Enumclaw, Washington, after telling his mother the attack was planned. The victims are Stella Jade Kimsey, 26, of Forest Grove; Rowan Karla Kimsey, 60, of Forest Grove; Mary Elizabeth Kimsey, 85, of Portland; Linsey Mae Haraldsen, 26, of Portland; and Alvin Raymond Chu, 27, of Portland. Two dogs and two cats were also shot; a third cat was later euthanized. Parker is deceased. There is no charging case.

Firefighters responding to a vehicle fire about 5 a.m. Saturday found the remains. Lead detective Mark Povolny said Stella Kimsey and Parker had a “horrible fight” Thursday night or early Friday and that Stella told him to leave. Investigators believe Parker killed Stella first, then Rowan when she came to check on her daughter, then Haraldsen when she arrived from Portland, then Mary Kimsey and Chu when they reached the property. Parker called his mother Saturday night, confessed, and said he had been planning it. Detectives recovered mental-health prescription bottles in his name and were told he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The sheriff’s office does not believe there is an ongoing public threat. Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Three generations of one family and two friends, with an official sequence and a reported confession now on the record.

Sources:

• OPB — Forest Grove killings were premeditated, began as domestic violence, investigators say
• The Oregonian — Oregon mass killer’s rampage premeditated, started with partner, police say
• KATU — Officials provide timeline of murders of 5 people outside Forest Grove

Bowie Mother Dies After Home Shooting

Shawanda Alston, 38, a Bowie, Maryland, mother of seven, died Tuesday of a gunshot wound to the head suffered five days earlier while she was holding her 2-month-old daughter during an argument about school supplies. Kimball Alton Hinton Jr., 41, was arrested on the front lawn. He faces first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, and firearm charges. Police said he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior convictions. He remains in custody without bail. He is presumed innocent. Charges were expected to be reviewed after her death.

The shooting was Thursday, August 20, in the 8500 block of Myrtle Avenue. Charging documents say one of the children called 911 at 4:16 p.m. and reported that her father had shot her mother; Hinton called two minutes later and said he had shot her and that the gun was in the mailbox. Officers found Alston on the bedroom floor. Hinton told police they had been arguing about back-to-school supplies, that another child tried to intervene, and that he had “every opportunity to leave the situation” but returned to the bedroom and fired. A firearm was recovered wrapped in a towel. Bowie Police Department confirmed her death on August 25 and said Prince George’s County Police homicide is assisting.

A domestic shooting in a house full of children, including an infant in her arms, now a homicide with the defendant already in custody.

Sources:

• Bowie Police Department — Victim succumbs to injuries sustained in Myrtle Avenue shooting
• WTOP — Bowie mother shot in the head while holding her baby, police say
• FOX 5 DC — Maryland mother dies days after being shot during argument with boyfriend

Fire Chief Charged in Wife’s Death

Jeremy Perrien, 45, a Scott County assistant fire chief, reserve deputy, and assistant coroner, was charged with second-degree murder in the June 29, 2025, shooting death of his wife, Shelby Kesler Perrien, 31, on Interstate 55. He also faces first-degree harassment, second-degree domestic assault, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. He was arrested August 21 at Fire Station Four and is held without bond in Stoddard County. He is presumed innocent. The case is being prosecuted by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

Perrien told first responders she had shot herself. Because of his local law-enforcement and fire ties, Scott County Sheriff Derick Wheetley turned the case to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control. The Patrol’s crime lab later concluded the shot could not have been self-inflicted from her position in the vehicle. Investigators also recovered a hidden-folder video from her phone, dated May 2025, that the affidavit says shows Perrien striking, choking, and threatening to kill her. He was charged August 20 and taken into custody at about 7:25 a.m. the next morning. Missouri State Highway Patrol; Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

A year-plus independent investigation of a law-enforcement-adjacent suspect, with lab work and a phone video now on a charging affidavit rather than a suicide report.

Sources:

• KFMO — Arrest made in Shelby Perrien death investigation; Jeremy Perrien charged
• ABC News — Man who said wife killed herself now charged with her murder
• KTTN — Sikeston man charged in wife’s 2025 Interstate 55 shooting death

Clancy Rebuttal Nears Closings

A Plymouth County jury heard the last stretch of expert testimony on whether Lindsay Clancy is criminally responsible for strangling her three children. The victims are Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months. Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder under extreme atrocity and cruelty and deliberate premeditation. She acknowledges the killings and is pursuing a lack-of-criminal-responsibility defense based on postpartum psychosis. She did not testify. Closings are expected Thursday.

On Tuesday, forensic psychologist Kirk Heilbrun, called by the prosecution in rebuttal, told jurors he believes she was criminally responsible. He said she had bipolar II symptoms and a mental disease or defect, but “retained an awareness of the illegality of killing others, including her children.” He rejected her account of a command hallucination and said the evidence more strongly supported a suicide attempt paired with killing the children so they would not be left behind. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington cross-examined him on that opinion. Testimony was wrapping Wednesday, with Judge William F. Sullivan pointing the case toward closings and instructions. Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office; trial in Plymouth Superior Court.

The live question is still criminal responsibility, not whether the children were killed. A verdict is not in yet.

Sources:

• The Boston Globe — Lindsay Clancy trial Day 20 recap
• Boston 25 — Psychologist testifies Clancy was criminally responsible
• NBC Boston — Testimony concludes, closing arguments ahead

Also watching

Saginaw, Michigan, police said they have cleared all nine of the city’s 2026 homicides, with seven charged and two under prosecutorial review. A clearance rate is not a charging card.

Watch Plymouth Superior Court for Clancy closings, expected Thursday. Watch Prince George’s County for any upgrade of Hinton’s attempted-murder counts after Alston’s death. Watch the Missouri Attorney General’s docket for Perrien’s next setting.